Tomorrow was finally his day. The day that he would finally ask out her. The most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. Tomorrow, he would make his dreams come true.
She had the softest, most fluffiest hair. A coat of delicate pink that resembled the sweetest cotton candy. Beautiful blue eyes that seemed to penetrate through his very soul… and into his heart. And finally, she had a laugh that could make even the saddest pony smile. The pony they called Pinkie Pie.
He didn’t even notice his affection for the mare at first. His love had just seemed to grow out of nowhere. But his love bloomed into the reddest of roses. She was his neighbor, his friend, his sunshine in the morning, day, and even night.
He could remember the fateful events that led to their first meeting as though it was just yesterday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His parents were normal, loving ponies from the bustling city of Manehattan. They were the best parents a pony could ask for, as far as he remembered.
His mother was a white-coated Pegasus with long flowing silver hair. She had discovered in her youth, how to make clouds into the perfect fluffy pillows. She would sell her pillows for her living. She quickly became known in the business world and her cloud pillows became Equestria-renowned for their flawless plush. Her cutie mark was three pillows with her initials on them. She used her name to decide what to call her company for her wonderful pillows, Plushie White (Pillows).
His father, Tawny Hoofing, was a light-mahogany coated unicorn with a dark-brown mane. When his father was young, he had to sleep on an old bumpy mattress filled with holes and loose springs. His father was so frustrated being unable to sleep at night that he vowed one day, he would make the greatest mattresses in the world, so that nopony would have to suffer like he did. With his magic to aid him, he spent years making the perfect mattress. Days he would work on his ultimate creation. He had made many other comfortable mattresses before. He even already received a cutie mark of a large white mattress. But there was always an imperfection, always something, that made his mattress disappointing. And then he met Plushie White.
It was a match made in heaven. Plushie White showed Tawny how he could use clouds for his mattress idea. A simple Cloud-Walking Spell allowed him to move and touch the clouds as he pleased. When he finished his first cloud-filled mattress, he knew this was the one.
It was fluffy without having too much of a sinking effect. The softness was like a silk cushion filled with phoenix feathers. He would jump on the mattress for hours without a spring breaking loose. And it was all because of a beautiful business mare named Plushie.
In return, Tawny found a long-lasting spell that would enchant Plushie’s pillows so that Earth ponies and unicorns alike could also place their heads on them. The two decided to join together and use their cloud-filled furniture for Plushie’s business. In two years, the couple would get married. Even later, they would have a filly of their own. A unicorn as white as his mother and with the mane of his father.
Lucid Snooze was born into the loving care of Plushie White and Tawny Hooves. Plushie and Tawny would spend a good amount of time for their filly instead of their business. They knew family was always first, not the money they had. And they had plenty of it at that point.
Lucid Snooze grew up as a happy pony with plenty of friends in the upper class of Manehattan. He wouldn’t grow up to be as snobby as the fancy ponies. No, his parents knew better than to raise him like that.
The day that he received his cutie mark was the proudest day of his parents’ life. His cutie mark was a purple dream cloud over a sleeping cap. It would make sense that it would have to do with sleeping. He probably had the best bed in all of Equestria because of his parents.
His talent? Sleeping. Dreaming to be exact. Lucid found a way to be able to control his dreams when he was asleep. There were endless possibilities. He found the ins and outs of his practice. He could change the setting at will, make any house he wanted, and even fly if he jumped. He loved to sleep.
His parents weren’t disappointed that their only son’s talent was sleeping. He was brought up as a capable businesspony and knew how to make cloud pillows and mattresses from scratch. But his parents would be unable to see how their son grew up.
“Tawny! Tawny love! Come here! You have to see this!”
Lucid started to open his eyes. He was awoken from his mother’s calling. Why did she have to call for his father right next to his bed? He was having a pleasant dream where he lived in a land completely made of chocolate.
His chocolate-colored father came to the side of his bed.
“What is it dear? Is there something wrong with Snoo… Oh sweet Celestia!” Tawny said as his eyes grew wide.
Lucid’s eyes opened fully at the reaction of his father and panicked. Was there something wrong with him?! He looked to where his parents were staring and took a deep breath. They were looking at his flank.
“My cutie mark appeared!!!” Lucid screamed. He started jumping up and down on his bed in excitement.
His father grabbed Lucid’s hoof and pulled him into a hug. His mother joined the two and sandwiched Lucid between the two of them. Lucid could feel the effects of their love squeezing him.
“We couldn’t be any prouder of you Snoozy boy,” Tawny said as he ruffled his son’s mane. Lucid just looked up at him and smiled.
“Ooh, this calls for a celebration!” Plushie chimed in. “A Cute-ceañera! How’s about it my wonderful filly?”
Lucid’s smile doubled in size and he nodded his head. The excitement was filling his throat and he was unable to speak words.
“Well then, we’d better get started on invitations and pick up a cake now, shouldn’t we?” Tawny spoke.
The three walked downstairs. The two adult ponies put on their coats and opened the door.
“We’ll be back in a jiffy, Snoozy,” Tawny said, closing the door behind him.
“Oh, they grow up so fast…” were the last words Lucid could hear from his mother before they walked away.
Lucid looked out of the window, expecting the warm sun smiling onto him for his cutie mark. But there was no sun. Dark rain clouds were all that met him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Half an hour passed. And then an hour. And another. And another.
Lucid was beginning to get worried. His parents should have returned home by now. Even if the storm had slowed them down, they should still have returned a while ago. Suddenly, a knock came on the door.
Lucid brightened up and opened the door to face his parents. All that stood in front of him were two royal Canterlot guards. Lucid cowered back from the towering guards.
“What… What are you doing here?” Lucid asked.
The two guards whispered to each other. One of the guards stepped up to Lucid.
“Are you Lucid Snooze Hoofing, colt of Plushival Ariadne White and Tawny Limbo Hoofing?”
“Yes… wha… what of it?” Lucid stuttered.
The guard shook his head. “Listen, no matter what I say next, I must ask of you to remain calm.”
“But why?!” Lucid started, beginning to get panicked, “Where are my parents?”
The guard shook his head again. The guard paused. He had a hard time being able to summon the strength of what he was about to say to the poor filly. “Your mother and father… were found dead this afternoon.”
Lucid jumped back. He blinked his eyes as he tried to hold back his tears. He shook his head furiously in denial. “NO! I don’t believe you! You two are just a bunch of BIG LIARS!” And with that, Lucid lunged after the guard in front of him. He wanted nothing more than to rip off his golden armor and tear him limb from limb.
But the other guard got in the way. The guard grabbed Lucid by the scruff of his neck and then put Lucid into a bear hug. Lucid struggled to get out of his hold, but he was still just a filly, and the guard was a well-trained stallion.
The other guard stepped closer to Lucid. Lucid pulled his head forward, trying to get a good bite out of the guard. The guard just watched gloomily as Lucid chomped at the air. When Lucid finally grew tired, the guard began to speak again.
“I assume you saw the thunder clouds outside. Unfortunately, a lightning bolt hit a tree causing it to topple over. Your parents were caught underneath the falling tree. No one could’ve stopped it.” The guard said.
Tears streamed from Lucid’s eyes. The holding guard let go of the filly. Lucid slumped onto the ground and let out a loud wail.
“NO! This can’t be happening!” Lucid yelled as warm salty tears flowed down his cheeks.
But it was happening. A few days later, Lucid found himself at his parents’ funeral. Hundreds of ponies came by to mourn and pay their respects. Even as every pony gave their hugs and mournful talks to Lucid, he never felt more alone in his entire life.
He was to leave for Trottingham to live with his uncle. He was taken in by his best friend and his family until then. The business made by his parents would be owned by his uncle until Lucid was old enough to work the company.
On the day before his departure, he visited his parents’ tombstone once more. There was one large headstone for the both of them that read:
“Here lies Plushival and Tawny Hoofing. Death has taken so young. May their heaven be as wonderful as the joy they brought to others.”
In front of the tombstone, lay a bouquet of lilies. Lucid had been able to create a strong emotional force field to stop all crying. He no longer felt the pure heart-wrenching pain of loss. He walked up to his tombstone and lifted a hoof.
He suddenly dropped his hoof down and began to crush the lilies underneath him. Each petal of the flowers fell off and crumpled under the weight of his hoof.
Lucid glared at his parents’ tombstone.
“How dare you leave me like this…” Lucid said. He put one final crushing hoof to the bouquet and spit on the loose earth underneath him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucid became the cold-hearted businesscolt that his parents didn’t want him to be. He had lost all sympathy for other ponies. He figured to himself that life was full of pain and misery anyways. His Uncle Browning was an experienced businesscolt himself and taught Lucid everything he knew. Lucid didn’t bother to make friends in Trottingham. There was no point in having fun when there were bits to be made. Was he lonely? There’s no better friend than a shining gold bit Lucid reasoned. There was only one time when he was truly happy.
Dreams. They could be as happy and wonderful as you can possibly imagine or they could be the scariest nightmares of your life. Luckily, Lucid was able to control them.
Every night, Lucid would dream of a better life. A life where his parents didn’t die that awful day. A life where his parents continued to love him and his friends were still around him. He would be the happiest pony in Equestria. The unicorn that would fly when he jumped.
But every morning, he would wake up to the bitter truth that it is just a dream. That none of it is actually real. Lucid would wake up every morning like that, for the next few years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How are you enjoying your daisy sandwich, Snoozy?” Tawny asked.
“It’s great Dad! I love your special rose sauce!” Lucid replied.
Tawny laughed and ruffled his son’s hair. The two had shared a successful afternoon together and were now eating their dinner as they watched the sun set.
“The afternoon was great Dad. I’m glad I got to spend it with you,” Lucid said cheerily.
“I’m glad too Snoozy boy,” Tawny said with a beaming smile.
A blue jay landed by the picnic basket. It opened its beak and a loud ringing came wailing out.
Lucid rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry Dad. Looks like I’m going to have to cut dinner short.”
Tawny Hoofing merely nodded. The sunset turned into darkness and their surroundings faded away. Tawny ruffled Lucid’s hair one more time before he, too, disappeared.
Lucid Snooze opened his eyes to see his white ceiling. To his left, his alarm clock was going off on the side of his bed. He sighed. Another day full of meetings and negotiations were ahead of him. He got up and silenced his alarm.
Lucid got himself ready for the day and proceeded to walk downstairs. He found his Uncle Browning reading the newspaper and munching on a bowl of Cheerilee-Os. Browning peered over his paper to see his nephew looking at him. Browning placed his newspaper down.
“I see that you’re ready for the day. That’s good. But there’s been a change in plans,” Browning told Lucid.
Lucid raised an eyebrow. “Whatever do you mean, Uncle?”
A mischievous grin appeared on Browning’s face. “What I mean is, your train leaves in three hours.”
Lucid tilted his head in confusion. “But I don’t have any appointments outside of Trottingham today. Why do I need to take a train?”
Browning sighed and beckoned his nephew to the seat next to him. Lucid took the bait and sat down.
“I’ve taught you everything I know Snooze,” Browning began, “and it’s time I set you off on your own. It’s about time you took full control of Plushie White and Co. and had a house of your own. But of course I can’t just kick you out all alone.”
Lucid merely nodded. He knew this day would come. “But why so sudden?” he asked, “And what about all my meetings for today?”
Browning waved a hoof as if to shoo Lucid’s comments away. “I have cancelled all your meetings. And the quick timing? So that, you don’t have time to go off and cancel your trip.”
Lucid nodded again. “And where am I headed?”
“Ponyville.”
Lucid rose from his chair. “Ponyville?!” Lucid yelled. “What about the upper-class cities where I belong? Places like Manehattan or even Canterlot?”
Browning shook his head. “Yes, I know you can very well make it in those fancy large cities, but you should have listened when I told you I wouldn’t let you out alone. Those cities are nasty places where every businesspony is your enemy. Even the friends you do make, could stab you in the back at any moment. So, I want you to go someplace nicer. Never, in all of my travels, have I been to a friendlier place than Ponyville. That’s why I suggest you stay there. Please, just for a month, then you can leave to wherever you want.”
Lucid put a hoof up to his head. Ponyville was just a half-rate town. No place for a sophisticated businesspony like him. But one month couldn’t hurt, could it?
“Fine,” Lucid finally said. “I’ll leave for Ponyville. But only for a month.”
Browning gave Lucid a reassuring smile. “You won’t regret your decision. And don’t be surprised if you find yourself wanting to stay just a little bit longer.” Browning gave his nephew a wink. “Now then, get your stuff together. The train is leaving in a few hours.”
Lucid trotted off to pack his things.
It’s about time I start packing my things too. Browning thought. I raised the colt just like you asked, Plushie. Now that he’s finally grown up, I can get back to my own life. Hoofululu here I come!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucid stepped off the train. He looked around the bustling downtown square of Ponyville. Ponies were chatting and walking as they passed. Lucid shrugged. Only thirty days right? he thought.
Lucid stepped into his new home. His uncle had rented Lucid a home last night. Using Lucid’s money, of course. It was a large empty two-story home. A knock came from the door.
Lucid opened the door and immediately jumped back. A gray mare with a wall-eyed expression appeared before him. The mare just smiled and said,
“Good afternoon Mr. Hoofing! The delivery truck with your furniture arrived!” the mare said. She stepped to the side to reveal a group of stallions unloading furniture from a truck.
“And let me be the first to welcome you to Ponyville!” the mare exclaimed.
Lucid looked at the blonde-maned mare. She maintained her curious wall-eyed expression.
“May I ask why your…” Lucid began. But he decided against it, wanting to get this meeting over with. “Never mind.”
The mare nodded and stepped aside to let the delivery stallions move the furniture into the house. After every piece of furniture was placed in their desired positions according to Lucid, the delivery ponies left the house.
Lucid’s stomach grumbled. He hadn’t eaten since this morning. A late afternoon snack wouldn’t hurt. Lucid walked outside and searched the area. He spotted a pastry shop just a few houses away.
He walked up to the store. It looked like a giant gingerbread house. Above him was a sign with a cupcake and pink frosting on it.
He opened the door and stepped inside. A bell chimed as he walked through the door. A rather pudgy cyan mare with a pink mane that resembled cupcake frosting walked into the room. A warm smile appeared on her face.
“Oh my! I haven’t seen you around before. What is your name?” the mare said.
“I am Lucid Snooze Hoofing. I just moved into Ponyville. I would like to purchase a cupcake with strawberry frosting at this establishment, if you please,” Lucid replied politely.
“Of course dearie! And welcome to Ponyville!” the mare said. She trotted into a back room.
Lucid swayed to and fro as he waited for his treat. He heard the bell chime behind him. It was quickly followed by a sharp gasp.
Lucid turned around to see a pair of cyan-colored eyes right in front of his. Lucid stepped back to see a pink pony with an unimaginably wide smile. She jumped up and down in place with excitement.
Lucid opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted.
“Oh my gosh! I’ve never seen you here before! You must be new here. I know, because I know every pony, and I mean every pony in Ponyville! Oh, and I’m Pinkie Pie!” She put out a hoof.
Lucid’s jaw dropped as he heard the words fly out of the mare’s mouth faster than a speeding bullet. He shook his head.
“Umm… nice to meet you,” Lucid said as he reached for Pinkie’s hoof, “My name is Lu-u-u-u-c-i-i-i-d Sno-o-o-o-o-oze!” Lucid said as his entire body was shaken with the force of Pinkie’s hoofshake.
Pinkie Pie giggled. “What kind of name is Lu-u-u-c-i-i-i-id Snoooooooze?” Pinkie Pie said with near perfect accuracy. She giggled again, but the laugh was quickly changed to a sharp gasp. Pinkie grabbed hold of Lucid’s shoulders and looked him directly in the eye.
“Do you know what this means!?” Pinkie asked. Lucid shook his head hesitantly.
“A party!!!” Pinkie said, pushing Lucid back. “Then you can make new friends with everypony in Ponyville. Well since your new here, you must have no friends so this will be the perfect chance!” Pinkie said excitedly.
“No, no please…” Lucid said sheepishly. “I’d rather not…”
Pinkie Pie just giggled. “Don’t be silly! Who doesn’t want to have a party? I’ll get started on the invitations right away!” Pinkie said as she zipped out the door.
“But I…” Lucid said, but it was no use. Pinkie Pie was already too far away to hear him.
“Here’s your cupcake Mr. Snooze! That will be three bits.” Mrs. Cake said as she reentered the room.
Lucid paid for the food and gloomily walked out. A party? Lucid thought. He wasn’t very used to parties. He hadn’t had one of his own since… his loss. Lucid shook his head. Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have to go to that party. A pony like her couldn’t make you go to one. She was probably joking about the whole thing anyways… But deep inside his heart, he deeply wanted nothing more than to agree with the pink mare’s idea.
Lucid barely opened the door to his house before he heard a familiar gasp. He looked behind him to see Pinkie Pie with her usual large smile.
“I was on my way back to ask you where I could find you, but then I saw you coming into this house and I was like…” Pinkie Pie let out another gasp, “when I realized you live so close to Sugarcube Corner! That means we could see each other EVERY DAY!!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
Lucid facehoofed. It’s going to be a long month… he thought.
“Yeah… this is where I live…” Lucid replied.
Pinkie Pie nodded her head furiously and quickly took off again. Lucid shrugged.
He stepped back into his home. His ears dropped in exhaustion. It had been a long day for him. Or it was just the energy that the pink mare had that exhausted him. It was time for what he loved best. Sleep.
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Lucid awoke with a start. He could’ve sworn he heard something. He could always tell the sounds that were happening in real life and the ones his imagination was making whenever he was dreaming. He opened his door with a loud creak. He heard a shushing sound downstairs and the sounds of plates scratching.
Lucid peered into the darkness and walked downstairs. He reached for the light switch on the wall.
“Hello?” Lucid said aloud. His hoof found the switch and he turned it on.
“SURPRISE!” As the lights turned on, he saw that he was surrounded by smiling ponies and streamers and balloons and cakes and much more. Directly in front of him was the pony who started all of this.
“Surprise!” Pinkie Pie said as she walked towards him. “It’s about time you got up sleepy head! It was getting soooo boooooring,” Pinkie said with a smile.
Lucid just stared at her. This can’t be happening… he thought. He jumped up in the air, but gravity took hold and brought him down. No, this was real. Tears appeared in his eyes.
Pinkie Pie was able to do what no other pony had done. She broke through his emotional force field. But not with sadness, with happiness. A party, just for him! A pony that she had just met and she had gone through all the trouble to throw a party for him. All around him were ponies that were smiling and waiting to meet him. Tears of joy streamed down his face.
Pinkie’s smile faltered. “What's wrong?” Pinkie Pie said with concern. “It’s a party! Why are you crying?”
Lucid wiped the tears from his eyes with his hoof. He sniffled. “Nopony…. nopony has ever been this kind to me…. I… I can’t thank you enough Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie’s smile came back with full force. “You can thank me by dancing with me!” Pinkie Pie said. “Woohoo!! Let’s get this party started!”
And so they did. And for the first time in years, Lucid didn’t feel quite so alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For a month, Lucid woke up with a smile. Every morning he would wake up to Celestia’s sun and birds chirping happily outside. He would get himself ready and go to Sugarcube Corner.
For a month, Pinkie Pie would be behind the counter with a smile on her face. She would hand him a cupcake and they would chat for a while. Just a small conversation, and then Lucid would leave. Once in a while, he would meet Pinkie Pie in the afternoon and they would share lunch together.
After a month, Lucid decided to buy the house his uncle had offered him. Uncle Browning was right. He would stay longer than what he originally intended. And it was all because of Pinkie Pie.
After a month, his dreams soon began to stray away from his long-lost parents. They were replaced with fantasies with Pinkie Pie. Her sweet giggle, her adorable love for candies and treats, and her uncanny way of making everypony smile.
After a month, he found out, he loved her.
The months passed. Lucid attended every party Pinkie invited him too and some more. Lucid laughed as Pinkie Pie knocked on his door in a chicken costume for Nightmare Night. He attended Pinkie’s performance during Hearth’s Warming Eve. Every moment he was with her, every moment he saw her replaced his sad memories. Her silliness, her happiness, her laughter, made her the perfect mare in Lucid’s eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow was finally his day. The day that he would finally ask out her. The most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. Tomorrow, he would make his dreams come true.
Lucid fell asleep.
Lucid opened his eyes to see a large white room. His thinking room in his dreams. Not only was controlling dreams fun, it was useful too. If he ever needed to think about something for a long time or make a plan, he would come here and mull it over during the night.
Tomorrow was Pinkie’s birthday. Everypony in Ponyville was planning to attend. It was supposed to be the biggest party of the year! And he planned every phase out. Months he spent working on his plan. There was no surprise that would stop Lucid from winning over Pinkie’s heart. Every step of every possibility was planned out. Nothing could go wrong.
The next morning was hectic for Lucid. He would look at the clock and exclaim that time was moving too slow. Other times he would say it was moving too fast. He was too anxious to fall asleep to calm his nerves. His brain couldn’t concentrate enough to do any business work. Every single thought was on the party… and her. Finally, the time had come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucid walked outside. The sun beat down on him directly above. All along the street were ponies and party decorations. The party was originally planned to be in Sugarcube Corner, but with the large number of invitees planning to come, the party was moved outside. The ground underneath him was shaking in rhythm with the bass blasting from the speakers.
Half an hour later, Lucid found himself pouring a glass of punch for a drink. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Pinkie Pie rapidly jumping up and down with an expectant smile on her face.
“Oh hey Pinkie Pie! Happy Birthday! How’s the day been for you?” Lucid said.
“Thanks Snoozy!” Lucid smiled. Pinkie Pie was the only pony he allowed to still call him by that name. “It’s the most amazing incredible tremendous super fun wonderful terrifically humungous birthday party in all of Equestria ever! So what do you think of the party?” Pinkie Pie said with a beam.
Phase one of Plan Pinkie complete. Lucid thought. He had rolled himself into a conversation with Pinkie Pie.
“Well I think this party is one of your…”
Pinkie Pie let out a gasp. Twinkles appeared in her eyes. “CONGA LINE!” Pinkie exclaimed. Pinkie grabbed Lucid’s hoof and pulled him onto the line. Lucid soon found himself with his hooves on Pinkie’s shoulders.
The new turn of events definitely shocked Lucid. But it didn’t matter, he would just have to wait until the song was over and reclaim his chat with Pinkie. He had to carry his plan out perfectly.
After a minute or so, the song ended. A new song with a slow, but rhythmic, beat came on. The line quickly dispersed and became pairs. Lucid gulped. It was a slow song.
Pinkie Pie turned around to face him.
“Oooh… a slow song!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. Pinkie Pie quickly grabbed his hooves and they entered a waltz.
Sweat began to appear on Lucid’s forehead. His face was beginning to burn up. Phase two: Get Pinkie Pie to dance with you, complete. Phase three: Get into slow dance, complete. The next two phases came by a bit too quickly for Lucid. His head had a hard time keeping his thoughts in order.
Or maybe it was because of the mare across from him. Her big blue eyes were staring straight into his eyes. A perceptive smile was on her face. Lucid’s eyes widened. She knows Lucid thought. No! She can’t possibly know! But if so, why isn’t she talking?!
Pinkie Pie remained silent as the two continued to dance together. An expectant expression was on her face. It was as though she was waiting for Lucid to make his move.
Off in the distance, he could hear the song beginning to end. Lucid had to think fast. What was the next phase in the plan? Lucid tried to remember. He couldn’t think straight. The sun was beating down hard on him. His cheeks were on fire. And the beautiful pink mare in front of him kept entering his thoughts. What do I do?
Lucid had no idea what enticed him to do what he did next.
As the song closed, Lucid leaned forward and gently planted his lips onto Pinkie’s. He could taste the sweet flavor of cupcakes as his lips met hers. He kept his lips placed there for a few more seconds. Pinkie Pie didn’t react at all. She didn’t kiss back or retract from him. She just stayed there.
Lucid finally ended the kiss and looked around. Everypony was staring at him and the star of the party. The music had completely stopped. Pinkie Pie stood in front of him with an uncertain look on her face. His face was on fire. Why did I just do that!?!?! Lucid screamed in his head.
Everypony was starting right at him. He couldn’t just walk away. He did the first thing that came to his mind. He fell back in an attempt to act unconscious. And then blackness…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucid opened his eyes. He was inside Sugarcube Corner. Most of the other ponies at the party had left. But they still had something to gossip about. Everypony in town now knew about Lucid’s daring action.
“Where… where am I?” Lucid asked as he sat up.
“You’re in Sugarcube Corner,” a lavender mare said. “You passed out, so we brought you inside Sugarcube Corner to rest until you woke up.”
“Oh hey Twilight. Thanks for all of that, but I faked passing out though,” Lucid replied.
“Really?” Applejack asked curiously. “Musta been when somepony dropped ya on the way here.”
On the other side of the room, Rainbow Dash gave out a small chuckle. “Hehe… yeah sorry about that…”
Lucid looked around. He didn’t notice there were that many ponies in the room. There were four ponies in all, but no Pinkie Pie.
“Where’s Pinkie?” Lucid asked.
The four ponies looked at each other nervously. Finally, Twilight sighed and began to talk.
“She’s in the other room with Fluttershy. We’ve never seen her like this. Listen, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but Pinkie Pie doesn’t like you the same way you like her.”
“Oh…” Lucid mumbled. He fought back hard to stop tears from appearing in his eyes. He always knew this was a possibility, but he chose to ignore it. He thought his plan would turn out perfectly. Apparently, even his plans had flaws.
“Maybe if I can just talk to her…?” Lucid said, getting up and walking towards the door.
Applejack stuck out a hoof and shook her head. “Ah’m sorry sugarcube, but Pinkie said she don’t want to see ya right now.”
“Oh…” Lucid mumbled again. It was worse than he thought. “I guess I’ll just be leaving now then…”
Lucid walked through the bakery’s entrance. His head hung low in shame and tears fell. It was almost fitting that a pony that mended his heart would be the one to break it.
Everything in his world was falling apart. He couldn’t believe it. He began to breathe fast.
And all of a sudden, his breathing slowed down. His eyes stopped tearing. Lucid regained his composure. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. No, if Pinkie wouldn’t be with him on her own will, Lucid had no other choice than to take her by force. A devilish grin appeared on his face as an idea formed in his mind.
"When your dreaming with a broken heart, waking up is the hardest part. You get out of bed and down on your knees, for a moment you can hardly breathe." –John Mayer
Lucid spent all night working on his plan. The hours flew by as he made his plan. It was so simple, yet so complicated. Every fiber of his soul wanted Pinkie Pie, but in a different way now. Lucid was willing to take Pinkie Pie’s love if she wouldn’t hand it to him.
Lucid walked into Sugarcube Corner. His saddlebags were filled to the brim with bits, clothes and more.
“Good morning Mr. Snooze!” Mrs. Cake said with a smile. “Pinkie Pie is in the back.” She giggled and gave him a wink.
A sly smile appeared on Lucid’s face. Perfect… Lucid thought.
Lucid walked into the kitchen to see Pinkie Pie kneading some dough. She didn’t seem to notice him walk into the room. Lucid opened his saddlebag and took out a frying pan.
Lucid crept up behind Pinkie Pie. He raised the frying pan high over his head. He brought it down on Pinkie’s mane with full force. Pinkie’s mane was pushed down, but quickly inflated again and acted as a trampoline. Lucid let go of the pan as it was sent flying to the opposite wall and hit it with a thud.
Pinkie Pie turned around and a smile appeared on her face. “Oh hey Snoozy!” Lucid scowled as Pinkie said his name. “I didn’t see you there. I hope you’re not too mad about yesterday. I just don’t think about you that way.”
“Well I uh…” Lucid stuttered. He hadn’t planned for the frying pan to flat out fail. He would have to improvise. “I… uh… oh forget it.”
Lucid searched through his backpack and took out a rope.
“Oooh… what’s the rope for? Are we going to play a game?!” Pinkie said cheerily.
Lucid tied all four of Pinkie’s legs together. He made sure the knot was tied tight. Even in danger, Pinkie Pie saw only the best of possibilities.
Lucid picked up Pinkie Pie onto his back. He peered outside the back exit to check if there were any ponies. Once the coast was clear, Lucid continued with his plan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucid threw Pinkie Pie into a small boat. Public transportation would be a bad idea. Everypony would be able to see the tied-up Pinkie Pie. He would just have a private boat trip with Pinkie Pie until he reached Manehattan by the river. There, he would live the rest of his life while detaining Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie may not be happy, but Lucid sure would be.
“Umm… Snoozy, playing this game is fun and all, but what exactly is the point of it?” Pinkie Pie asked earnestly.
Lucid facehoofed. He rolled his eyes. “Listen, Pinkie. I’m capturing you and you’re going to live with me for the rest of your life in Manehattan, okay?” Lucid said sharply.
Pinkie’s smile fell. “Wait what?! But I don’t want to go to a place filled with rich snobby ponies! I want to stay here, in Ponyville, where all my friends are!” Pinkie pleaded.
Lucid didn’t want to hear Pinkie rant. He reached into his saddlebag again and took out some duct tape.
Lucid laid back as the current of the river slowly took the boat down the river. In front of him lay Pinkie Pie, tears silently pouring out of her eyes as her mouth was taped shut.
She’ll get over it Lucid thought. It’s time to relax and think about my future with Pinkie. Lucid sighed in leisure and closed his eyes.
He quickly sat up. This can’t be right Lucid thought. The current of the river picked up. How did I get to the river without anypony noticing me? Waves started to slam against the side of the boat. How could I actually act out a plan this stupid? The boat began to break apart as the current began to grow even faster. And how did I find out this river led to Manehattan? In front of Lucid was a rushing waterfall. Lucid’s eyes grew wide in realization.
The boat fell over the waterfall. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as Lucid and Pinkie Pie were thrown out of the boat. Pinkie was flailing about as she fell to the bottom of the waterfall with a loud, smashing splash.
Lucid remained calm as he fell through the air. He knew everything was going to be alright. He closed his eyes as he was about to smash against the water.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucid woke up with a start.
“Where… where am I?” Lucid asked as he sat up.
“You’re in Sugarcube Corner,” a lavender mare said. “You passed out, so we brought you inside Sugarcube Corner to rest until you woke up.”
Lucid held his hoof up to his head. Talk about déjà vu. “Oh hey Twilight. Thanks for all of that, but I faked passing out though,” Lucid replied.
“Really?” Applejack asked curiously. “Musta been when somepony dropped ya on the way here.”
On the other side of the room, Rainbow Dash gave out a small chuckle. “Hehe… yeah sorry about that…”
Lucid looked around the room. Everything was almost exactly the same from his dream, except one thing. There were six ponies there. And one was jumping up and down excitedly with a large smile on her face.
“It’s about time you got up sleepy head! It was getting soooo boooooring,” Pinkie said.
Lucid couldn’t believe his eyes. It was almost like getting a second chance at life.
“Oh hey Pinkie!” Lucid chuckled nervously. “Did you like my surprise?”
Pinkie Pie stopped jumping and walked over to him. Lucid looked at Pinkie curiously. There was never any way to expect her next move. Pinkie Pie grabbed hold of Lucid and pulled him into a deep kiss. Lucid was too surprised to kiss back. Pinkie drew back with just the slightest shade of red showing through her pink coat.
“Liked it? I loved it! That was one of the best presents I could have ever asked for!” Pinkie said.
Lucid was too shocked to speak. He could still feel the press of Pinkie’s lips against his. “Wha…but…i…”
Pinkie Pie just giggled. “Oh Snoozy! I knew you liked me for a long time! It wasn’t that hard to tell.”
Lucid was still too flabbergasted for actual sentences to come out of his mouth. Pinkie Pie continued.
“I was wondering when you were finally going to make your move. I was getting tired of waiting. So I set up the party just to see how you would do once you actually had some time with me!”
Lucid just stared at Pinkie. She had out-planned him. Everything, the party, the conga line, the slow dance was planned out for him. Pinkie Pie bonked him on the head with her hoof.
“Helloooo? You there Snoozy? I mean I know your talent is sleeping, but I didn’t think you could sleep with your eyes open!” Pinkie said with a smile.
The bonking finally snapped Lucid back to reality. “That’s great!” Lucid exclaimed. “I can’t believe this! I didn’t think you felt the same way I did. I mean, who would want to go out with a pony whose talent is sleeping…”
Pinkie Pie pulled Lucid into an embrace. “I would.” Pinkie said.
Tears started to appear in Lucid’s eyes. Pinkie liked him. Pinkie actually liked him. It was a dream come true.
Pinkie Pie broke the hug. “Well come on! We still got the rest of my birthday! Let’s get to partying!”
“Uhh… Pinkie, the birthday party ended a few hours ago,” Rainbow Dash said.
“So??” Pinkie Pie said. “We can have a party just for us! Five of my bestest friends and of course…” Pinkie Pie wrapped a leg around Lucid’s shoulders, “my new coltfriend!” Lucid blushed intensely.
“Well this is Pinkie Pie we’re talking about,” Rarity said. “I suppose a few more hours of… partying will be fine.”
Everypony else nodded and proceeded to trot downstairs. Pinkie Pie stopped at the door. “Aren’t you coming Snoozy?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there soon,” Lucid replied.
Pinkie nodded and walked out the door, leaving Lucid alone.
Everything was turning towards his way. He had finally gotten the love of Pinkie Pie. There was just one more thing to do.
He jumped.
